I’m Group B Strep (GBS) Positive. Can I have a Waterbirth?

GBS testing is not routinely offered to women in the UK. This is because it is considered that the high rate of carriage compared to the low rate of infection means that the harm done to women and babies in offering antibiotics to every woman who is carrying GBS would outweigh the benefits.

However, some women do end up being tested for one reason or another, and those who find that they are carrying GBS are often then denied access to water during their birth (unless they’re at home, in which case it’s always the woman’s own decision). Aquabirths asks, “Is this a reasonable position for trusts to take?”.

Many trusts are open to women birthing in water and some are not, and within trusts some midwives or obstetricians will deny women access to the trust’s pools, and others will be completely happy to support women who want to use a pool for their birth. What’s going on?

There is limited data on the impact of waterbirth on how many babies born to women who are carrying GBS, but what data there is shows either a reduction in the numbers of babies born underwater who are infected with GBS, or no statistical difference, but with a trend towards a reduction in affected babies who are born underwater. This is despite the fact that the water in a pool birth could have high levels of GBS in it, and therefore the theory is that the water is essentially washing the baby and mother, providing some increased level of protection compared to babies born on dry land. (1)

An article by JS Cohain (2) states that infection with GBS was 1/4432 in babies born underwater v 1/1450 in babies born on land – that’s three times as many babies becoming infected with GBS when they’re born on land than babies born underwater! The article discusses the reasons for this, including considering whether it might be “a massively successful international campaign has covered up the reporting of all deaths and disease from GBS after waterbirths.” There’s nothing like covering all bases!

Even though the evidence on GBS and waterbirth is limited and more studies are needed, if the trend was the other way – that more babies seemed to be infected with GBS when born in water – there would be no doubt that there would be a huge push to try to ban birth in water! Given that the opposite is true, and the best data that we have shows a trend towards fewer babies being infected with GBS when they’re born under water, opening up water birth to women who have found that they’re carrying GBS is something that every birth centre and obstetric unit should support.